Protective collars



Dec. 27, 1960 l. A. NoDURFT PROTECTIVE COLLARS Filed June 28, 1957 H5?Arron/var My invention pertains in general to a protective device forthe neck and shoulders, and more particularly to an improved heatinsulating collar for use by beauticians to protect the neck andshoulders of the customer from excessive heat owing from theconventional hair dryers.

In beauty parlor practice, it is customary to use a shield or towelaround the neck and shoulders of the customer in an attempt to preventthe hot air fromthe hair dryer from bearing directly on the neckandshoulders. Such heat has been a source of great discomfort andsometimes actual injury to the subject. Such makeshift arrangements as afabric shield or towel do not, adequately insulate the neck andshoulders from the hot air blast and also such arrangements often larenot of a desirable sanitary quality and are somewhat uncomfortable tothe user. be heated to such a degree that it is extremely uncomfortablewhen coming in direct contact with the skin, particularly so when thecustomer must remain in a fixed position beneath the dryer for longperiodsof time, and furthermoreV has a drying and injurious effect onkthe skin. It is, therefore, myaim.v to provide an improved protectivedeviceV or collar which will fully insulate, the neck and shoulders ofthe. wearer from the heated air of the dryer and, thus. contribute to`the comforty of` the user as welll as to, the convenienceand'efficiency ofv the beautyv shop'` operator..

Accordingly, it isranrobject of my invention to provide a heatinsulating collar which is light in weight and may be easily andquicklyv placed around the neck and over the shoulders, and justaseasily removed therefrom.

It isa further object' of my inventiony to. provide. a@ light weightcollar which is so designed and proportioned that it rests securely-around the neck and on the shoulders of the user, and being filled witha heat insulating material completely prevents any hot air blast yfromstriking the neck and shoulders of the wearer.

It is still a further object of my invention to provide a protectivecollar which may be easily and economically manufactured, has a longperiod of utility, and which may be kept clean and sanitary with aminimum of care and expense.

Other and further objects and advantages of this invention will beapparent from a description thereof, and it will be better understoodfrom the following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, and the scope of this invention will be pointedout in the :appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings,

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of my protective collar as the samewould appear in use and on the shoulders of the wearer.

Figure 2 is a side view of my protective collar when being worn by acustomer seated under the usual beauty parlor hair dryer.

Figure 3 is a plan view of my protective collar, and Figure 4 is across-sectional view taken along the lines 4--4 of Figure 3.

The air, from the hair dryer as generally used must' States arent Figure5 is a perspective view of a stitiening or form retaining member whichmay be inserted. in the collar shown at Figures 1 and 3.

Figure 6 is an elevation view of one end of the protective collar ofFigure 1 showing a modification incorporating a sachet retaining pocket.

Reference should now be had to Figures 1 and 3 in which the protectivedevice, indicated generally by. the numeral 10, consists of a pair offorwardly extending wing portions 11 and 12 which are joined in agenerally Ushaped manner by means of the narrow body portion 13, theentire assembly thus forming a collar shaped device having a neckencircling aperture 14, and anopen throat 15 for easy placement aroundthe neck of the wearer.

Figure 2 shows the collar in use under a hair dryer D, the dashed arrowsindicating ilow of' hot air down on to the neck and shoulders of thewearer. The overthe-shoulder wing portions 11 and 12 are considerablythicker at their forward ends than the back-of-the-neck.

portion 13, therefore being somewhat heavier, it results in the collarbeing self-seating on the shoulders of the wearer so that the neckportion 13 lits snugly against the back of the neck of the user and theentire oollar tilts slightly forward covering the shoulders andremaining in place without necessity of tie strings, clips or othermeans.

This protective collar is made by forming a hollow body of cloth orfabric similar to a formed pillow, preferably using a` rather hardfinished material that may be easily wiped' and cleaned, land it is alsowithin the scope of my invention that plastic materials could be usedfor forming the hollow body 10. or trim 16` is providedaroundtheperiphery of the upper surface and also serves to bind the upper surfaceof the body material to the side panelsV in the manner shown.

By reference to Figure 4, it will be noted that the protective collarisV iilled or stuffed with any suitable light' weight material 1 7,having` t-he essential qualities of heat insulation and also beingdamp-proof, mold proof and vermin proof. I haveV found that a materialsuch asV kapok is very satisfactory for this purpose, however it is alsocontemplated that other materials, including some of the syntheticfibers and filling materials can be equally well used for this purpose.Figure 4.also shows the genenally rectangular cross-section of thedevice at the back ofthe neck part 13, and ithas been foundv that whenAthe body member 10 is thoroughly and tightly filled and' stulfed withthe filling material 17 the collar will assume the shape as shown inFigure l and will retain this shape and figuration after long periods ofuse. Figure 4 also shows the shoulder conforming shape of each wingportion, and shows the relative thickness or depth of the body member atthe neck part 13 and the front of the wing 12.

In the event it is desirable to incorporate further shape retainingmeans, I have provided an alternative construction incorporating aU-shaped flat spring member 18 as shown in Figure 5. This consists of acircular neck portion 19 and the `forwardly extending arms 20 and 21which fit within the wings 11 and 12 respectively. The positioning ofthis forming spring 18 wit-hin the body 10 can be seen in thecross-section view at Figure 4, and this has the additional advantage ofretaining the forwardly extending wings 11 and 12 in the position inFigure 3 and permits them to be separated slightly in placing the collararound the neck of the wearer, whereupon they will close to the positionas shown in Figure 3, thus providing a snug but not uncomfortable tit.The forming spring 18 should be pre-formed and made of any light springmetal or resilient plastic, and should not be so heavy or stili as to beuncomfortable to the user, being merely to retain the shape of thecollar as shown` Patented Dec. 27, 1960 Adecorative beadV 3 in Figure 3.When the body is filled with heat insulation 17, the spring 18 will beheld in place by the filler 17 without needof other sewing means.

Figure 6 shows the forward end of one of the wing portions, in this casethe left hand portion 12, in which I have provided a pocket 22 having atop opening 23, said pocket being formed merely by stitching a flap ofmaterial to the inner surface before the assembly is complete. It is,therefore, a simple operation to place a small quantity of sachet powderor other perfume material within this pocket and which will contributeto the cornfort and pleasure of the user. It is, of course, obvious thatthe sachet pocket as shown could be located at almost any other portionof the front part of this device.

It is important to note that this protective collar, being light inweight and being self positioned on the shoulders of the wearer, createsno discomfort when in place and positively serves to prevent the blastof hot air which ows downwardly over the wearers head and hair, as shownin Figure 1, from striking the neck and shoulders of the wearer.

As mentioned previously, the article is easily cleaned being necessaryonly to wipe it off with a damp cloth or a cloth dampened indisinfectant, and in ordinary beauty parlor practice a neck band oftissue would be used around the neck of the wearer to prevent directContact of the collar with the wearer. An important feature of thisprotective collar is the proportioning of the front wing portions 11 and12 and the thinner back of the neck portion 13 whereby the greaterweight of the front portion results in the collar being self positioningby gravity and remaining in the position on the shoulders as shown,without the use of any external clamps or ties of any nature.

In the foregoing description, the term cloth or fabric has been used andit should be understood that this term contemplates use of any suitableflexible sanitary material, such as fabric or plastic, and it is alsocontemplated that a variety of lling or stung materials can be employedas long as they are light in weight and possess qualities of heatinsulation as previously mentioned.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment and form of myinvention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certainchanges and modifications may be made therein without departing from myinvention in its broader aspects and I, therefore, aim in the appendedclaims to cover any and all such modications as may be made withoutdeparting from the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A heat deector for the neck and shoulders comprising a collar shapedbody open at the front for positioning over the neck and shoulders, saidbody including a back-of-the-neck portion and two forwardly extendingover-the-shoulder portions integrally connected thereto, thecross-sectional area of said collar being a minimum at theback-of-the-neek portion and increasing substantially to a maximum at apoint near the end of each of said over-the-shoulder portions resultingin the greatest portion o-f the mass and weight of said body memberbeing disposed in the forward one-half of each of said over-the-shoulderportions, heat insulating material dis posed within said body member,and resilient spring means positioned Within said body and extendinginto said menthe-shoulder portions.

2. A heat detiector for the neck and shoulders comprising a collarshaped body open at the front for positioning over the neck andshoulders, said body including a back-of-the-neck portion and twoforwardly extending over-the-shoulder portions integrally connectedthereto, the cross-sectional area of said collar being a minimum at theback-of-the-neck portion and increasing substantially to a maximum at apoint near the end of each of said over-the-shoulder portions, heatinsulating matcrial disposed within said body member resulting in thegreatest portion of the mass and weight of said body member beingdisposed in the forward one-half of each of said over-the-shoulderportions, a receptacle formed in the wall of said body for containingfragrant materials, and resilient spring means positioned within saidbody and extending into said over-the-shoulder portions.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 673,872Von Hillern-Flinsch May 14, 1901 1,081,016 Bush Dec. 9, 1913 1,342,106,.Grabiec June 1, 1920 1,358,589 Sharp Nov. 9, 1920 1,787,832 Mueller Ian.6, 1931 2,295,906 Lacour Sept. 15, 1942 2,522,120 Kaskey et al. Sept.12, 1950 2,629,870 Hudson Mar. 3, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 248,635 GreatBritain Mar. 11, 1926 429,447 Germany May 28, 1926

